Education

There’s a slogan, written in Spanish, that Sandra Ovalles tells her students all the time. You can even find it from time to time on her blackboard.
It’s “nada es imposible, todo es posible,” which means “nothing is impossible, everything is possible” in English.
Ovalles believes you can achieve whatever you set your mind to, and she tries to help her students carry that same attitude – all through the teaching of language.

Some students achieve more success in the classroom when hands-on activities are built into daily lessons, while others may find it easier to work in small groups.

Finding what strategies work best for students and communicating those techniques to teachers is just part of what Wendy Bartell does.

The Buford Middle School literacy coach and instructional facilitator works daily with teachers and students. She helps teachers with their lesson plans, facilitates workshops and speaks to students about literacy.

For the last three years, the fourth-grade Clinton Elementary School teacher has abandoned textbooks in three of the four main academic areas and adopted a student-driven approach.

By the numbers, her strategy appears to be working.

Salyer, who’s in her fourth year at Clinton Elementary, is the 2010 Celebrate Great Teaching award winner for Lancaster County School District. The accolade is the district’s highest honor for educators.

Dozens of students who didn’t get the supplies they needed when school began will soon get a helping hand.

United Way of Lancaster County recently held its second annual Stuff the Bus school drive in which residents donated papers, pencils, crayons and other school supplies to collection spots throughout the county.

Those supplies benefit children served through the Lancaster County Outreach Project, which provides resources for neglected and abused children.

Remaining supplies will go to other Lancaster County School District children in need.

A group of rising kindergarteners interacted with their teacher and mingled amongst themselves as if they had been around each other for months.

If there were jitters about starting school, they weren’t easy to detect. This group of youngsters appeared eager to be in the classroom.

The scene in Heather McManus’ kindergarten class at Indian Land Elementary School was one that was seen across the school district last week, as teachers wrapped up this year’s Countdown to Kindergarten program.